Nemeses Nevermore
by sychang18
Summary: Brick wasn't thinking straight, and ended up saving Blossom. . . and that's how it all started. This fanfic was greatly inspired by the picture "Injured Rose" by Sweatshirtmaster via DeviantArt. Yes, some typical Blossick stuff, and possibly Boomubbles and Butchercup stuff will be included, too. The story has been rated T for some possible violence.
1. Chapter 1: No One But Me

**Hi, everyone! This is sychang18, here to say a few things before the story actually begins:**

**1. I am not good at art, and therefore, I do not have a DeviantArt account. Thus, I cannot ask for permission to use artworks for fanfics, as anonymous comments are disabled on the website. I can only ask for forgiveness.**

**2. I may end up holding votes, accepting ideas, or featuring OCs every now and then. But although you can ask me for these kinds of stuff, you cannot demand me to do them, as these are my fanfics, and I am the author who makes all choices (unless I leave them up to you readers).**

**3. Lastly, I have a busy life outside the internet. Actually, I have a busy life within my laptop, too, considering I am working on many fanfics simultaneously on my Mac. None of them are complete, and most of them have not debuted online. So DO NOT DEMAND ME for new chapters, as the case may be that I am either working on my studies or other fanfics.**

**That said, wish me luck. Hopefully, I will finish this fanfic by this year AND I will decide to make this a trilogy.**

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><p><em>He was enjoying it. Or, at least, he thought he did. He heard the screams of his counterpart, his arch-nemesis. So how come he was feeling uneasy?<em>

_Suddenly, it was silent. He could hear nothing. Then, he could hear himself talking. Or was he talking? He couldn't feel his mouth move, but he could unmistakably hear his own voice, talking to him._

_"Don't lose your purpose. . . you wouldn't be here without her. You know that."_

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><p>Brick shook his head. <em>Oh, come on!<em> he told himself as he flew alongside his brothers. _That's was only a dream! Not like you've gotta worry about it, right?_

A loud roar interrupted his thoughts. The Rowdyruff Boys skidded to a halt and just floated there listening. Pretty soon, a scream followed.

"Cool!" Butch cried out. "Something's destroying Townsville again!" He turned to Boomer. "Wanna go take a look?"

"Yeah!" Boomer replied. "Let's take a look!"

"Hehehe! This is gonna be fun!" Butch said, already hyped up as he and his brother darted in the direction of the scream.

Brick flew after them a second later. But he wasn't smiling. Why did the scream sound so familiar?

They kept flying onward until. . .

"Stop!" Butch shouted, stopping himself from flying further. "Here we are!" Boomer immediately lied on his back and rested himself on a nearby cloud.

Brick flew forward a bit further than them and squinted for a better look. He could see the monster crashing buildings, that was plain to see. But he also noticed that the monster was constantly flinging something away from itself. The thing was continuously trailing pink light streaks behind. And it was trying to attack the monster, but to no avail; it just kept on getting tossed around and crashed to the ground.

Brick squinted harder, but he still couldn't see much else. He was just going to give up on it when he saw something that caught his eye. A ridiculously large red bow on the head of the thing. Such an accessory could belong to only one person in all of Townsville.

In a flash, a wicked grin spread across his face. _Blossom. Of course._ Only she and her sisters would try to fight and stop this monster. Then he noticed something else, and his grin was replaced with a puzzled frown. Where were her sisters, anyway? Why was she fighting the monster all alone?

The monster, again, knocked her to the ground. And the next time she flew up, she wasn't flying so quickly anymore. She just looked like a pink dot from the distance now. Only then did Brick get a clear view of her. . . and his eyes widened with shock. Half of Blossom was drenched with blood. Her cheeks were marked with crimson blotchy bruises. There were a few lacerations over one of her eyes, forcing it shut. Her arms were covered not just with bruises, but with bleeding wounds as well. Her stockings were torn and decorated with feathered scars, and her dress was covered with scratches and blood as well. Brick also managed to see blood trickling out of the corners of her mouth. Her ribbon had torn edges and was speckled with black dust from all the gravel she had been collapsing upon. Her shoes were missing.

Then he could see her lips move, probably saying something to the monster. But Blossom barely had time to finish her words; Brick could see her lurch forward and hack up blood, so much blood that it created a tiny swimming pool of red right on the road below.

Brick was taken aback. Now he was feeling sick. He hadn't seen this much blood his entire life. He didn't think bleeding someone to death would be this serious. He and his brothers had always left the Powerpuff Girls with bruises and dirt, but they had never bled them; Blossom's current state was completely new to Brick, in a terrible way.

He saw Blossom shudder in the distance and look up with effort. But she didn't have time to strike again. By the time she had stopped coughing, the monster had already been bringing its forepaw down on her.

The sickening _thud_ could be heard even from where the Rowdyruffs were standing. Brick gasped, startled. He glanced to his right, just in time to see Boomer jolt awake from the sound. The blue had dozed off on the makeshift cloud bed. Brick glanced to his left; Butch was also shocked. The boy's mouth was open, gaping, with his tongue lolling out.

Brick looked forward again. Blossom was falling.

Something echoed at the back of his mind. _Don't lose your purpose. . . you wouldn't be here without her. You know that._

Brick gazed at Blossom, falling, then at the monster, roaring in triumph.

"Um. . . let's leave," Boomer said. He'd seen enough shenanigans for one day.

"Yeah, let's go," Butch replied. He'd seen enough havoc as well for the time being. "C'mon, Brick!" he cried as he and Boomer dashed back in the direction they had come. They heard their brother taking off in flight. But why did the sound seem to get further away from them?

The two stopped and turned around. To find Brick flying towards Blossom and the monster.

"Brick!" Brick could hear his brothers cry out his name, telling him to come back. He just didn't know what to do, but something in him told him it had to be done, a certain action. Deftly, he dove under Blossom and caught her, then soared up. After a few seconds, he stopped and hovered to take a good look at her. She looked much worse close up now. Her closed eyelids twitched as if they were trying to open, but they were sewn together. Her painful moans sounded like meaningless whispers that a deaf child would mumble. He could feel her blood soaking into his shirt.

"Brick!" Brick turned in time to see Boomer stop beside him. "What're you doing? We're not going back?"

_Aw, great, you've gone and done it,_ Brick thought to himself. He looked at Blossom, then at Boomer, then back at Blossom. _Think, think. . . think!_ He had to come up with an excuse. He had to tell Boomer something to get away with this! Or should he?

Somewhere in his head, he was telling himself, _Drop her. She's not your business. Saving a Powerpuff Girl, seriously?_

Just then, his dream repeated itself in his head. He heard the screaming, Blossom's screaming, which he had heard only minutes ago. No wonder it had been so familiar.

"Don't lose your purpose. . . you wouldn't be here without her. You know that."

_Don't lose your purpose. . . of course!_ He turned to Boomer. "We're going back, but we're taking _her_ back, too."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because-"

"Hey, look out!"

Brick whirled to his behind just in time to see a paw hurtling towards him, claws stretched out. Brick kicked it away from him with vexation. There was no way he was going to be able to handle this thing by himself, let alone with him holding Blossom.

"Hey, Butch!" he yelled into the distance. His brother flashed up next to him.

"Yeah?"

"Take care of that thing! Boomer and I'll go home first."

Butch looked down at Blossom. _Why in the world-?_ But he stopped himself from asking that. He wasn't going to question Brick. He wasn't going to risk a stupid smack in the face. So he just soared up to deal with whatever Brick told him to deal with.

Meanwhile, Brick and Boomer were dashing off. After a few moments, Boomer turned to Brick.

"So."

Brick turned to Boomer. "So. . . what?"

"You was saying?"

"Huh?"

"Why ya taking her back?"

Brick looked back down at Blossom. What was his excuse again? _Oh. . . yeah._

"Because no one should hurt her but me."

"Eh?"

"If anyone's gonna kill her, it should be me."

"How come?"

"Well-"

"Whad'ya all talking about?" Butch interrupted, suddenly appearing at Brick's other side.

"Whoa, wha-" Brick stammered. "You're already done with it?"

"Yup!"

"Huh. . . that was fast."

"So?"

"What."

"Whad'ya talking about?"

"That if anyone's gonna kill Blossom, I should do it, and no one else."

"Why?"

Brick looked down at Blossom and stared at her for a few moments before answering. "I'm _her_ counterpart, and I'm here because _she_ already existed. I was _made_ to kill her, just the way you guys were made to kill the others. If anyone's going hurt her _this_ much, I should be responsible for it, and I should take care of it. No one else should be allowed to hurt her.

"No one but me."

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><p><strong>Whew! Thank goodness I'm finally done with the first chapter! Dang it, this took up a lot of my brain space.<strong>

**OK, I know that this is pretty rushed for a beginning, but when you've got the middle planned out before the beginning or the end, this is what happens. I'm not very good at introductions, although my friends say I'm great at describing.**

**Well, off to work on my second chapter now. Hopefully it will be a little more exciting.**

**All thoughts, dreams, or flashbacks will be written in italics. All notes from the writer will be in bold.**


	2. Chapter 2: When the Time Comes

"Eugh. . ." Blossom moaned as she finally opened her good eye. Everything was blurry. She blinked slowly. Then she blinked again. And again. She kept blinking until things finally cleared up. At what Blossom's eye first caught sight of, she let out a choked whimper.

_No,_ she told herself. _No, it's, it's not real. It can't be real!_

Blossom squeezed her eye shut and opened it one more time. _No, no. . ._

She couldn't believe it. She didn't want to believe it. But she couldn't deny the truth anymore. It had happened. She had been taken hostage by some of her worst enemies.

She couldn't do anything but stare into Boomer's and Butch's eyes. The two of them merely floating over her made them just look menacing.

"Hey, look who's finally woken up," Butch said, an evil grin on his face.

Blossom just looked up in fear until she finally made up her mind to slap him in the face and escape. She had to get away from here, somehow. She threw an arm up. And realized it wouldn't move.

She tried to move it again, and felt her wrists tug against something. Blossom's hopes of fleeing sank immediately. She didn't need to try and get a look to tell what had happened.

_Wait. . ._ Blossom's hopes began to rise. _No, don't give up. I can still do this._ She aimed a kick at Boomer. Her hopes diminished once more as she realized her ankles were bound together as well.

Fear welled up in her like a surfer's wave. She tried to inch backwards. But to no avail; her back could only push up against the couch (where she had been laid down upon), and no more.

The boys seemed to notice her panic, and their malicious smiles turned even more malicious.

"P-please don't hurt me," Blossom murmured when she found her voice.

"Oh, don't worry," Butch said with mock compassion. "We'll just maim a limb of yours before letting you go."

"Or maybe we'll just find a wall to hang you up on by the hair," Boomer chimed in, picking up on Butch's lead.

"Geez, if you guys are going to threaten her, can you at least make it sound realistic?" came a familiar voice.

Boomer and Butch turned around to face its source, and Blossom managed to follow their gaze. All three of them found a certain boy with a red baseball cap and long mullet-styled hair, throwing bottle caps into a fireplace.

She gasped. _No, no, no!_ Butch and Boomer weren't the only ones present.

All of them were there.

She looked on in horror as Brick slowly hovered towards them. Frantic, Blossom struggled against the bonds, but it was no use. They held her arms and legs together as well as a mousetrap would strap onto a gullible rodent.

Her eye darted around, looking for a way to escape, but she couldn't find any. She squirmed with discomfort, her terror rising at a rapid rate.

Her gaze found Brick again. Now he was only two arm-lengths away from her face. But unlike his brothers, his expression looked. . . disinterested?

_Uh-oh._ That was _not_ a good sign. If he wouldn't take pleasure in torturing her, he'd probably keep going until she was dead.

She pushed herself harder against the couch. It was no use trying to fly. All three of them had already surrounded her, and would block her the moment she took off. She was too tired to fly anyways. In fact, she was too tired to use any of her superpowers, and it would be pointless to take an offensive now. Growing more desperate with every passing second, she tried to snap her wrists backwards so that her hands may reach the knots and unbind them. But to no avail; the ropes only tightened the more she moved. Blossom barely managed to inhale before looking up with a scared eye at Brick. All he did was stare down at her with a blank frown. It nearly drove her insane, to see that expressionless face, not knowing what he planned to do with her.

Brick was remained silent for what seemed like a lifetime. Then, he turned to his brothers. "Out," he said, gruffly. "Both of ya."

He watched as the twosome flew out of the house. As soon as they were gone, Brick looked back down at Blossom, trembling like a leaf resisting a gust of wind. He hesitated for a few seconds before moving over a little closer to Blossom.

Blossom panicked. She hated the situation she was in. She couldn't do anything. She could only lament over her fate. It took all her will to prevent tears from falling out of both of her eyes.

_Why did it have to be like this today?_ she thought, stifling a scream. She looked straight into Brick's eyes, horrified. _No, no! There has to be a way, there has to be. . . but how?_

She let out a small cough, and mustered all the courage she could gather into her mouth. "Listen, you don't have t-"

Brick cut her off. "You're not telling me what to do."

Blossom gulped. _Oh, no._ He wasn't going to listen to her. He definitely didn't seem to plan to go easy on her either. She readied herself for whatever blow that might be dealt to her. Hopefully, she would survive this ordeal. Hopefully, she would find a way out, and get home, safe and sound. Hopefully.

Brick pulled out something behind him. Blossom's eye widened. _Is. . . is that what I think it is. . .?_ Blossom took another slow blink with her good eye, hoping she was wrong.

But she wasn't. That flash of metal was unmistakable.

Blossom hastily tried to break free, but she only caused the ropes to tighten so much that they began to hurt her skin. And the more the bonds tightened, the more the knot in her stomach tightened as well. She shrank back in fear. "N-n-no! You can't! P-please!" she cried.

Brick flew up above her. On her blind side. Now she would never see what would happen to her, let alone live to talk of it. "Please, please don't! Please!" she said over and over again, pleading for mercy. All of her hopes were gone now. Blossom tried to scream, but her voice box froze; she couldn't even squeak. She was terrorized beyond imagination to do anything. She closed her eye, waiting for the painful jab that would come when he brought down the knife.

It never came. Instead, she heard a sharp _snag!_ and she felt her wrists break loose. She soon heard another loud snapping sound, and her legs also broke free.

An awkward silence rang throughout the room. Then Blossom clapped her hands to her face and cried. She was weeping with gratefulness; she felt so stunned by everything that had just happened.

Brick took notice of it. _Wow,_ he thought, _she must have been _really _scared._

He threw the knife onto a nearby stool, sat down beside Blossom, and waited for her to let it all out.

When Blossom stopped sniffling, Brick asked, "Are you OK?"

Blossom didn't answer, half because she _didn't_ feel OK, and half because she was too shocked to answer.

When her senses finally came around, intending to fly out straight away, she sat up. Immediately, she wished she hadn't. Her body ached all over. "Ow," she said, softly.

Brick heard that. "Wait," he said simply, and dashed into a room. Seconds later, he flew back out with. . .

"A first-aid kit?" Blossom asked.

Brick shrugged. "Stole it from a nearby doctor when Boomer skinned his knee weeks ago." He hovered over to the couch and set down the box right beside her. Opening it, he scanned the materials quickly, then took out some gauze and bandages. "Hold still," he said. "This is gonna hurt." He wrapped some gauze around her knee.

Blossom bit her lip, grimacing from the initial pain. Brick wasn't clumsy, but he wasn't really gentle.

They were both silent for a moment. Blossom took a deep breath. "Why are you helping me?" she asked.

Brick stopped. After a moment, he continued to bandage her legs. "Because I was made to kill you."

Blossom was taken aback by the answer. Not only had she been scared by what he said, but she was also confused. "Um, beg your pardon?"

"Anyone who's going to kill you should be the one who hurt you, and I haven't hurt you. Someone else did, and I don't like that. So unless you're healed, I'm gonna make sure you're alright."

The message was half reassuring, and half terrifying. Blossom wanted to hear more; she had to know if this was going to get good or bad for her. "So. . . you're gonna kill me, or spare me?"

"Both."

"Oh, c'mon, you're confusing me," Blossom laughed out nervously. "It's either one way or the o-"

Brick flew forward and grabbed her by the collar before she could finish. He drew back a fist, as if he was going to punch. Blossom shook her head frantically. "Don't, don't-" she gasped with pain.

"I'm gonna do both," he said, careful to leave out his sympathy for Blossom and disbelief of his own actions from his voice. He hadn't really meant to go ahead and do that; it was instinct. He was just used to doing that to his "dads" every time they dropped into their "home" to say something stupid. He also hadn't meant to scare Blossom again; he didn't know why. But for some reason, he just didn't want to.

"I'm gonna do both," he repeated. "I'm gonna beat you up when you're alive and well. But because you're hurt, I'm gonna protect ya, until you don't have a single scar on ya.

"And when the time comes," he said, drawing Blossom closer to him, _"then_ I'll kill you."

Both children failed to hear the lie riding freely on the boy's words.

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><p><strong>Whoa. OK, be honest! Who didn't see the content in this chapter coming? Because I can tell you now, I didn't.<strong>

**This is the part where you go O_O.**

**At first, I intended this chapter to be a little more softer, but I thought the stuff in here was far too bland and cliché. So I decided to make this a little more exciting. After a major revision, the outcome ended up being this. Needless to say, it's all about Brick wanting to kill Blossom, but can't for some reason (excuses, excuses, bleargh).**

**I'm not happy about the chapter, having all the grim content, but I'm mighty proud of myself to be able to write like this. I mean, it's only been three days since I last updated, so it's gotta be a record for me.**

**See ya all next time.**


	3. Chapter 3: He Didn't Do Anything

The store bell rang as Boomer exited the candy store with two small bags. He had intended to buy three, but the money he and his brothers had robbed a month ago hadn't been enough to buy all the jawbreakers.

It had been about a day since Brick took Blossom in. Boomer and Butch, of course, did not feel too good about this. But they weren't going risk receiving blows from their brother. Blossom was in a half-comatose state (he still didn't quite understand what it meant, even after Brick mentioned it to him multiple times), and, according to Brick, would be too "dangerous" if they let her go right now.

_"And make sure you _buy _the candy, got it?"_ he remembered Brick yelling at him as he left the house. Boomer snorted. Thanks to keeping a Powerpuff Girl in the house, they couldn't even do what they had always enjoyed doing freely. Welp, he would have to deal with it. Not like he could do anything about it, could he?

He glanced homeward. Well, not homeward. It was hard, at least for Boomer himself, to call that place "home". It wasn't even really their home in the first place. The house had been on sale last winter, but they had taken it by force with Mojo's help. The boys themselves had told their "dads" that they wanted to live separately from their "parents".

He was going to set off and fly back home when he heard a voice. A _very_ familiar voice.

"Have you seen her, please? Um, have you?" the voice just grew louder. And louder still. Until the source of the voice, not looking where it was going, crashed into him as it turned the corner.

"Ugh!" Boomer fell to the ground, still holding the bags. He rubbed his head, and looked up to find. . .

"Bubbles?"

Bubbles rubbed her head and looked up. The first thing Boomer noticed was that she was a mess. The hair in her pigtails seemed out of place. She had that crazed look in her eyes that clearly said, _I can't talk with you, or anything._

The next thing he noticed was that out of Bubbles's arms tumbled out a huge stack of papers. On each of them was a picture of Blossom. He couldn't make out the rest of whatever was on them.

He set the candy bags down on the sidewalk and walked towards the paper pile. He picked one up. Sure enough, there was that big picture of Blossom. And there was something else on top it. Boomer read the word: MISSING. Below the picture was a bunch of information. Boomer smirked. What was the point of writing so much when everyone in the city knew very well who they were?

He kept reading. _Lost On: May-_

Boomer received a smack in the face before he could read the rest. As quickly as that blow came, he felt the paper being snatched out of his hand. He rubbed his face and glared back at Bubbles. Then, he got scared. Looking into Bubbles's eyes at the moment made him feel like he was looking straight into Him's eyes.

"Get your hands off them, you-" Bubbles stopped, searching for the right word. But she couldn't think of any. "Just-just get away!" she snapped.

Boomer just gazed at the paper in her hand. He thought he knew the answer. And it would probably be a stupid question to ask. But he asked anyways. "Dude, why'd you get these papers?"

Boomer failed to shield himself from another blow. He covered his face in pain. "Ow!" _Yup, definitely a stupid question._

"Why should it be any of _your_ business?!" Bubbles hollered, clutching the poster as if it was her life. "You shouldn't turn up around here!" Despite her bravado, Bubbles couldn't help but hear her heart thumping loudly. She was just one step away from a hysterical panic attack.

_Oh, no!_ she was thinking. Now Boomer had found out that Blossom was missing. And if _any villain_ found out that _Blossom,_ out of the trio, was missing, she knew they'd do _anything_ to take an advantage of Buttercup and her own self. Boomer was probably too stupid to realize what he and his brothers could do, but what if he _was_ smarter than she expected? Or what if he went home and absentmindedly told his brothers about what he had seen, and _they_ would figure out what they could do? She _really_ hoped Boomer would forget seeing the poster.

Boomer stammered, unsure of what to do. "Um, uh, but, I was only-"

"Shut that big fat mouth of yours!" Bubbles cried, pointing at him accusingly. "If you ever come back here, I'll, I'll-I'LL CAVE YOUR FACE IN!"

Boomer was about to protest, and Bubbles was about to yell something else nasty, when they were both disrupted by a loud SPLASH! and a burst of water in their faces. Boomer wiped the water from his eyes just in time to see a speedy truck pass by. Bubbles, on the other hand, took the time to wring the water out of her pigtails, that had straightened out from the impact.

Too late did she noticed the poster she was holding was receding to a pulpy, gluey mess.

"N-no!" she whimpered, and turned her gaze to the papers that she had lost her grip of. Or, at least, what _used_ to be a pile of papers that she had held onto. It was just-there was no other way to describe it-_mush._ Bubbles stood over the pasty pile with the sopping wet former poster in her hands, swaying from shock.

Boomer thought he knew what was going to happen. A look at how her eyes twitched, and it was easy to realize in a flash. _One, two, three._

Bubbles fell over and broke down, wailing.

Boomer felt uncomfortable. He had seen the Powerpuff Girls being left in misery before, but he never saw any of them crying. They usually held up pretty well when they were fighting him and his brothers. Until now. And he hated watching Bubbles cry. It made him feel like he had to do something. He knew he could just leave, but for some reason, he felt like he was stuck where he was.

_What can I do, what can I do. . ._ Boomer kept thinking. Bubbles crying was making him feel worse. And the worst part of this queasy feeling was that _he didn't do anything._ All he did was pick up a poster, get smacked in the face twice, see a random truck drive by and get soaked, and. . . well, now, watching her weep. If _he_ had been the cause, if he had known this incident to be his fault, he would be laughing. He would be proud of himself. Heck it, his brothers would be even prouder, possibly jealous, of him for being the first of them to make a Powerpuff Girl cry.

But he didn't do anything to her. Not this time. And she was crying, for crying out loud. _That_ was the bad part.

Bubbles just kept crying. She only managed to hand out copies of the poster to ten citizens or so out of the population of ten million (and counting). And the ninety posters that had been left were destroyed beyond repair. There was no way she and Buttercup could save Blossom in time now. Running into Boomer and allowing herself to be distracted had led this to become a matter of do or die.

She continued to cry until she felt something nudge her. She looked up to find Boomer holding out a bag towards her. Sniffing, she took it, and peeked inside. She let out a soft gasp before facing Boomer.

"J-jawbreakers?"

Boomer nodded slowly.

Bubbles just stared back. Then she flashed a quick smile, and rocketed off. Boomer stared into the distance until he couldn't see her anymore.

Then Boomer felt weird. He felt like he was satisfied. He was released from that spot he had just been rooted into. He did something to end this-and he found it good.

And he didn't like that.

He took off into the air, towards "home".

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><p><strong>Wow, there's an awful lot of crying and "No!"s in this fanfic. And the chapter title sucks. . . -_-;;<strong>

**Been ten days since I last updated. TEN FRIGGIN' DAYS. GAAAAAH!**

**Gotta start working on this story a bit harder.**

**So, yeah, I have officially decided to include some Boomubbles and Butchercup stuff (I know, the latter hasn't come out yet). Hopefully, this'll work the way I'm planning it to work.**

**Oh, and random trivia. . . did anyone notice that Bubbles was the only girl who hugged Boomer and smiled while kissing his cheek in "The Boys are Back In Town"? (If you don't know that episode, REMEDY THAT IMMEDIATELY.) Also, anyone notice that. . . Brick was the only boy who _didn't_ frown when he got kissed?! LOLZ**


	4. Chapter 4: Promise-Breaker

"Well, Buttercup?" Professor Utonium said when he saw his daughter fly through the door. "Any sign of Blossom yet?"

"No," Buttercup replied glumly. "Scanned the entire city, not a single bow on a redhead in sight."

The Professor sighed. "Well, I hope at least Bubbles comes back all right," he said, walking over to the couch. "I don't want to lose anymore daughters."

"When do you think she's gonna-" Buttercup never finished speaking. She got tackle hugged by a very distressed Bubbles.

"WAAAAHHH!" Bubbles cried, hugging Buttercup so tightly, she choked on her own breath.

"Woah, easy, Bubbles!" Buttercup managed, prying her sister off of her body. "Why are you so-"

"The missing posters got ruined!" Bubbles wailed. "I got a bunch of water in my face, I don't know who, but the posters got soaked! And then Boomer dropped off, and he gave me a bag of jawbreakers, I don't know what his deal is, and, and-WE'LL NEVER FIND HER!"

"In English, puh-lease?" Buttercup couldn't understand half of what Bubbles had been saying. The blond had spoken so rapidly, her hearing glands couldn't catch up on what she had said. And how exactly did this conversation on Boomer and jawbreakers come up out of nowhere?

Bubbles took in a few deep breaths. "I, I, I was passing out the missing posters, but I bumped into Boomer." Buttercup tensed. _If he did _anything _to make this crybaby cry, I swear. . ._

"And then this truck came by, and splashed water over both of us. We got soaked, but so did the posters. What if we lose Blossom, forever-"

Buttercup shoved her hand into her sister's mouth. "Don't say it." The thought of not being able to find Blossom just hurt.

Bubbles understood. Gulping in some more air, she continued, "The truck splashed water in my face, and Boomer's face, too. And then the posters were ruined, and I kinda, well. . . I got the water out of my eyes. . ."

Buttercup rolled her eyes, but smiled. Good old Bubbles, just trying to stay strong.

"And then. . . Boomer, he. . . he gave me this bag of jawbreakers, right here-"

"Woah, woah, wait. _What?!"_ Buttercup frowned. She heard that right, right? Only then did she noticed that the blond was clutching a brown bulging bag. Buttercup half-yanked the bag out of Bubbles' hand and took a peek inside. _Yup, they're jawbreakers, alright._

She looked back up at Bubbles, jaw set in minimal rage. "Are you kidding me?" she hissed, careful not to yell. They didn't need to cause anymore trouble than they already had. "Why would you even accept this from him?"

"Well, I think, maybe, uh. . . he's not so bad after all?"

_"Not so bad?!"_ Buttercup growled. She had tossed the bag aside and was leaning in on Bubbles. "He's a Rowdyruff Boy, Bubbles! Do you even know who we're talking about? Just because he gave you jawbreakers once doesn't mean that he's good!"

"I, I just thought, um. . . uh. . ."

"Um, uh, nothing!" Buttercup sighed with exasperation. When was Bubbles going to understand? It wasn't always possible to reform a villain!

"I'm gonna go out for another fly," she said, racing for the front door. "Shouldn't take that long. Bye!"

"But, Buttercup-"

_SLAM!_

"Ow!"

_Maybe I was a bit too hard on her,_ Buttercup thought as she took to the air. It was pretty mean of her, to literally slam the door in her own sister's face. But she had no time to apologize. She had to get a move on, she had to go out at look for Blossom at least one more time. They couldn't have lost her sister so easily.

_Darn it,_ she thought as she flew over Pokey Oaks Kindergarten. _If all those monsters hadn't suddenly attacked Townsville, all three of us would have been just fine. . ._

Five monsters had gone on an all-out rampage yesterday. And they weren't from Monster Isle, either. They had a one-track mind to kill. When Blossom had received the hotline, Buttercup knew she and her sisters would have to protect Townsville again, no matter what the cost. And usually there was little cost or none at all. But this time there were too many for the trio to fight together.

* * *

><p>"<em>Bubbles, take on the wolf and the falcon! Buttercup, get the python and the bull!"<em>

_ "Uh, Blossom?"_

_ "Yeah, Buttercup?"_

_ "You _sure _you can take on that giant tiger?"_

_ "Come on, Buttercup, you're dealing with two of these things. I'm pretty sure I can get through this one just fine."_

_ "Promise, Blossom?"_

_ "I promise, Bubbles. Now, let's do this, girls! And we'll have to try to take this fight out of Townsville!"_

_Buttercup herself managed to get the job done in no time. All she did was fling the python creature around the bull creature's neck and throw them beyond Fuzzy's forest. It turned out those two were not as strong as they looked, which was somewhat of a disappointment for her._

_ She was able to leap to Bubbles' aid, who could be seen in the distance fighting the wolf creature and the falcon creature. The two creatures, although not strong, were fast, and Bubbles, despite her knowledge of animals, failed to outwit them. Buttercup held off a distraction long enough for Bubbles to dispatch them._

_ But after their own skirmishes were over, they could not find Blossom. It wasn't until they heard a deafening roar from all the way across the city that they located her._

_ And Blossom was not there when they arrived. All they found was a large puddle of blood and scraps of Blossom's clothing._

* * *

><p>"Stupid. . . promise-breaker. . ." Buttercup grunted as she reached Townsville, forcing in her tears. She couldn't cry. Not now, when Blossom needed her. If she cried, that would mean she had given up hope on finding her sister. And she was not planning to give up so easily, unlike Bubbles. Blossom had to be alive, somewhere. She could be anywhere, trying to stop herself from bleeding, trying to survive. She had promised she would get through the ordeal, after all.<p>

_Come on, come on!_ Buttercup thought frantically, zigzagging around buildings. _She's gotta be around here, somewh-_

WHAM! Something barreled into her side.

"Euagghhh!" Buttercup shrieked as the full force of it overwhelmed her. She barely skidded to a halt in the air before she had her back slamming into a skyscraper. Quickly, she shook her head, and looked forward. Pulling off the most ferocious glare she could, her eyes focused onto. . .

"You?!" There was Butch, just bobbing in mid-air, a little ways apart from her. But he looked different. He wasn't twitching with the eagerness of beating the heck out of whatever crossed his path. He didn't bear that crazy, seemingly-endless smile on his face. This time, he was shivering with anger, and the shadowy look of a purpose, fully his own, crossed his eyes.

Buttercup kept her startled expression for a split-second more before slyly smirking. "Aw, what's wrong, Butchy-boy?" she teased. "Somebody ith weawy angwy, ain't he?"

Butch responded by flying forward, socking her squarely in the jaw.

"Mmmph!" Buttercup cupped her hands around her mouth and spat. She let out a sigh of relief. At least she hadn't bled.

Buttercup looked back up to give Butch the what for, but he was already aiming another hit. Barely dodging it, Buttercup grabbed Butch by the throat and kept pushing him through the air. Just before she was able to drive him into a brick building, Butch collared her and did a hundred-eighty degree spin.

"Waugh!" Buttercup cried as she felt the bumpy bricks grind into her backside. She kicked Butch off. "Get off, you creep! What the heck is wrong with you?!"

Butch just glared back. Waving a fist in the air, he charged, yelling, "I'LL KILL YOU!"

"What the heck, dude?!" Buttercup yelped as she flew off, Butch in hot pursuit of her. _Wow,_ she thought. _He must have been _really _angry. Maybe it _was _a terrible idea to go ahead and tease him like that._

She made a rough landing in the park. Having created enough skid marks into the grassy soil, she whirled to face her counterpart. Butch made an even rougher landing; soon, he was surrounded by a crater devoid of vegetation.

"What's this all about?!" Buttercup demanded. "You're going off a lot crazier than how you first were, y'know!"

Butch just stayed down in his sprinter's crouch. "You're not going anywhere. Not until I show Brick I'm much better than him. . ."

"Huh?" Buttercup was completely confused. "What are ya even talking about?"

Butch snorted. "Brick can't even kill a Powerpuff Girl. . . yet he tells me and Boomer to do whatever _he_ wants. . . he asks Boomer for opinions, but he's _so stupid_. . . but Brick doesn't ask _me_ for _anything_. . ." the green boy trembled with fury. "Well, I'm gonna show him! I'll kill you!" Butch cried as he readied a Tornado Kick. "Then he'll _have_. . . to listen. . . to _me!"_

_ SMASH!_

"Aaaaaarrrgh!" Buttercup cried, cowering from the pain. It hurt! "Hey, hey!" she cried out, barely blocking Butch's berserk blows. "Can't we _talk_ this over? This is _overkill!"_

Butch ignored her and kicked her head on.

"Hey, hey, stop, stop!" Buttercup suddenly flew up and used both of her feet to clamp down Butch's. The boy grunted, struggling to get free. Knowing he couldn't use his feet, he tried to use his arms. Sweating heavily, Buttercup decided to practice her new move straight on Butch.

"Telekinesis!" she cried, and used all her concentration on pinning Butch's arms to the ground. One of his punches had gotten _very_ close to her face, when a neon green glow surrounded his arms and brought them down with a _thud._

_Darn it, it shouldn't have been this way!_ Butch thought. _I'm supposed to have gotten this over with by now, she should be dead by now, I should have already gone home and confronted Brick. . ._

He couldn't get a hold of his emotions anymore. Hot tears leaked out between his eyelids. Upon seeing this, Buttercup was taken aback. "H-hey! What's wrong?" she asked, somewhat worried. She flew off of Butch, and the glow around his arms slowly faded away.

But he didn't get up. He just stayed down, breathing shakily. "Brick. . ." he finally managed, ". . . always doing things _his_ way. . ."

Buttercup was confused, but she thought she could connect to what Butch was saying. "Tell me, what's going on?" she said, lying down next to him.

Butch kept his mouth shut. Should he talk? He didn't know. He didn't trust her; she wasn't on the same side as him.

"I don't think I like Brick so much," he finally said. "He keeps telling us what to do, half of them just sounds completely stupid. The only reason why I don't talk back is mostly 'cause he just hits anything that doesn't agree with him."

"Heh, really?" Buttercup replied. "I kinda feel the same way about Blossom. I sorta dislike her when she gives out orders. She isn't right all the time, even if she's the smartest. Her brains are too big for her own good." She chuckled and sat up. "And we argue a lot. Sometimes, it goes all the way to dealing blows at each other, but we sort it out in the end. Mind ya, though, she listens to me." Buttercup looked down at Butch. "Y'know why?"

Butch looked up at Buttercup. "Why?"

"Because I stand up to her," the girl responded matter-of-factly. "I get back at her when I disagree with her or when I think she's wrong, because I want her to listen to me, to see my point. Usually, she wins. . . but I've won a few times, too. Because she eventually understands me. And that's exactly what _you've_ gotta do to Brick."

"Huh?"

"The only reason Brick's got all that power over you is because you never stand up to him. You're _letting_ him boss you around, and that's not right. Ya gotta learn to resist, Butch, really."

Butch just stared up for a moment before feeling his anger steadily creeping into him. He hated her even more now. Because she was right. He hadn't really disagreed with Brick in any situation.

"Speaking of which, I gotta go," Buttercup said, breaking through Butch's thoughts. "Blossom's been missing for a long time, and she would normally have come home ages ago. Oh, before that," she continued, leaning in on Butch, "just because you think you hate Brick right now doesn't mean you actually do. If ya ever lose him, you'll probably feel really bad about it. Don't take family for granted." Hanging her head, she added, "I've made that mistake, and the consequences are _ugly,"_ before taking off. Only when she was about a skylength away from the park did she realize what she had said.

_Oh, no! No, no, no, no, NO!_ What had she done? She was senseless enough to reveal they were a number short, and that would make a clear opening. . .

Maybe Blossom did have a right to be arrogant the way she was. Buttercup herself knew the truth, she wasn't smart enough like her sister. Her recent blunder had confirmed the fact.

At long last, she allowed herself to sob. She knew she had sworn to herself not to cry while Blossom was missing, but there was no use trying to shove her words back into her mouth. She had already let a secret slip, and it was a terrible slippage of words. She had to give up now. She would have to. The Powerpuffs' end would come soon, she could tell.

"I'm sorry, Blossom," Buttercup whispered through tears. "I'm a promise-breaker, too. . ."

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the enorvastmously late update! 24 DAYS. What was I thinking. . . ^^;; Don't get mad at me!<strong>

**Yeah, the "hearing glands" part? Well, we all know the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys don't have ears, so I needed something to fill them in. I mean, if you can recall from "The Boys are Back in Town", Buttercup covers the spot where her ears should be when Butch cracks his knuckles (I didn't know that he was cracking bones until some neighbor of mine explained it to me by doing it himself).**

**Kinda odd at the fighting-monsters flashback, though. How come the Rowdyruff Boys didn't notice the other monsters? Maybe all of those monsters were too small for skyline view, or were all of them (except for the giant tiger that nearly tore Blossom to pieces) already defeated by the Powerpuff Girls by the time the Boys went out for a fly? Probably the latter. . .**

**And the part when Butch collars Buttercup and bumps her against the building? That was a direct reference to "The Rowdyruff Boys", only it was Buttercup doing that to Butch instead.**

**Frankly, I've rushed through the first bit of the chapter. It was only after I got to the flashback when things got interesting enough for me.**

**Special thanks to Vanilla Butter 88 for helping me through my writer's block (is that a good excuse as to why I haven't been updating for so long?).**

**Also, PLEASE check my profile page. The bottom notification may. . . "interest" some of you.**


	5. Chapter 5: Not Now

Brick trembled. He didn't know how long he'd been tossing and turning in bed, but he did know he just woke up, gasping. "N-no, no more. . ." he breathed. "No. . . more. . . nightmares. . . _please. . ."_

* * *

><p><em>"URGH!" He could taste the blood sprayed into his mouth. Was it his, or was it someone else's? He couldn't tell. But he'd never felt so terrified.<em>

_"Well, now are you ready to do what you must?" Brick could feel his breathe being squeezed out. His blurry vision could barely make out the fiery red snake coiled around him. And further down the body, he could see. . ._

_Brick gasped, partially in surprise, partially for breath. "Boomer! Butch!" His brothers didn't reply. They were struggling, too._

_"You know what you must do, Brick," the voice hissed. "Only if you do it can you win!"_

_"I don't know what the heck you're talking about!" Brick yelled back. The pain, the dizziness, he couldn't take it. . ._

_"Oh, don't lie to me. . ." the voice growled. "You know what's right to do, and there's always a chance for you, mostly for you. If you decide to do it now, I'll put you-and your brothers-at ease. If you don't, well, then. . ."_

_The serpent squeezed harder. "AAAAGGH!" He was going to run out of breath soon. He had to do it. It would take his pride away, but he had to, or he'd die, and his brothers would, too. He didn't want any of that happening._

_He opened his mouth to call for help._

* * *

><p>Why couldn't he place that voice? It was so familiar, but he couldn't think of anyone with that voice!<p>

"Stupid. . . nightmares. . ." Brick grumbled, shivering. He flew out of bed silently, careful not to wake his brothers. Opening the door, he looked back at the other two. His brothers. . . they looked so. . . _peaceful._ . .

Brick frowned with resolve. _No. Nothing's gonna happen to them._

He went downstairs. Flying to the kitchen, he opened the refrigerator. "Ah!" He grabbed a can of Gatorade and immediately cracked it open. Sipping it, he closed the refrigerator and turned to fly back up.

"Hhhhhhhh!"

The sharp intake of breath caught Brick's attention. He zapped in front of the living room. Cracking open the door, he peered inside. And there was Blossom, on the couch, holding her knees together, shuddering. Tears were leaking out of her one good eye. She was mumbling something frantically. Brick could catch fragments of her rushed speaking. "No. . . no, don't. . . be fine. . ."

Brick felt concerned. Was the girl worried about something else that could have happened? _Wait, what-_

Brick shook his head. Why the heck was he feeling concern for this stupid sissy? He shouldn't be feeling this.

_Man, this is becoming a problem. . ._

This wasn't the first time things like this had occurred to him, either. That day when he beat up a doctor to care for Boomer, he had broken one of his own rules. The rule that each brother was supposed to care for his own self.

And before _that,_ back when he had helped out a cat. Out of all things, a _cat._ He and his brothers were just floating around, bored, when something that sounded _seriously pissed off_ let out one of the loudest shrieks any of them had ever heard. The trio had flown towards the shriek, and they had found a bloodied alleyway, a cat whose right forepaw had been recently torn off, and a dog with a scarred muzzle that had been scratched across as if something had tried to cut it off. It didn't take long for any of the boys to figure out what had happened. And they had sided with the cat. Because Brick had ordered them to. After the problem had been solved, and the cat had been dropped off right in front of the hospital, the Rowdyruff Boys had broken another one of their rules: to show no conscience whatsoever.

Now that he thought about it, Brick felt really stupid. He was starting to develop feelings, rather disturbing ones. Mainly fear and worry. He didn't know why, he just felt them.

"Uh, is something wrong?" Brick snapped out of his thoughts. He noticed Blossom staring at him. . . and how widely he had opened up the door.

"Er-" _Dang it!_ Brick quickly turned in embarrassment. He hadn't really intended to check on her tonight, he'd just woken up from a stupid nightmare, and she had too, apparently. Just how quickly was he getting to nowhere?

Brick whirled around to close the door. And ended up face-to-face with Blossom.

"Erm, uh, hello. . . ?" Blossom said, feeling awkward.

Brick muttered something unintelligible. After a while, he grumbled, "What do you want?"

"Well, it's just. . . I just woke up in the middle of the night. . . I had a nightmare and I got scared. And, well, the next thing that happened after I calmed myself. . . you were just. . . _standing_ there. Why'd you look at me like that?"

"Look at you like what?"

"It was like, um. . . you weren't _really_ looking at me, like you're seeing _through_ me, and you were doing that for about twenty seconds. . . it was kinda making me feel uncomfortable."

_Thanks for letting me know I looked creepy because I was lost in my past thoughts._

"Is something bothering you?"

"No, not really." But something was bothering Brick. It wasn't just the nightmare. It wasn't the fact that Blossom had a nightmare, or that he had dwelt on his past, during which he had broken his own rules, either. There was this strange feeling the air right now, something that Brick couldn't really place his hand on. Whatever it was, it felt bad. It was worry, fear, guilt, and hesitation mixed into one. It was a weak kind of dread, but it wasn't the kind of feeling anyone would want.

He wasn't the only one feeling dreadful. He didn't know it, but Blossom was feeling the same way.

So were the boys upstairs. "Brick? Brick!"

"Where the heck are you?!"

Brick turned away from the door, thankful to have a distraction. Soon, a forest green streak of light stopped right before him. This was followed by a cobalt blue light, which ran straight into the green one.

"Here you are," Butch said grumpily.

"Phew! Found you!" Boomer cried out cheerfully, jumping out behind the green boy.

Brick sighed. "So, looks like everyone in the house woke up. . ."

Butch raised an eyebrow. "Everyone?"

Brick gestured his head in Blossom's direction. Butch folded his arms and eyed Blossom. She lowered her eyes to the floor.

"Can we play hide-and-seek?" Boomer said. "Can we, can we?"

"Not tonight," Brick and Butch replied in unison. Brick stared at Butch in surprise. He wasn't really one to answer Boomer first.

"Go back upstairs, Boomer," Butch continued. Boomer obeyed. Brick sipped his drink and floated by when he felt a hand snag his shoulder. Brick turned to Butch, astounded. Butch didn't look back at him.

"We need to talk." Butch glared at Blossom again. "Privately." Blossom shuffled back into the living room and closed the door.

* * *

><p>"So?" Brick asked when he and Butch had sat down at the kitchen table. "What'cha wanna talk to me about?"<p>

Butch didn't answer for a long time. Then, "When are you going to kill all of them?"

Brick performed a marvelous spit-take at the sink. "What? Why are you asking _me_ that? Why are you asking me _now?"_

"You know. . ." Butch continued, "you can just kill her now while you have the chance. . ."

Brick bit his lip. "Have you been thinking this through? All along?"

Butch nodded.

Brick sighed, "Well, maybe _someday,_ dude. But not now. She's so hurt, she can't even kick me."

"You're actually feeling sorry for her, aren't you?" Butch asked, coldly. "Unlike how you feel for me."

"Wha. . . what?"

"You heard me. You're feeling sorry for a Powerpuff Girl, but you never feel anything for me."

Brick couldn't stay anything. What the heck was his brother talking about? "I don't know _what_ you're trying to tell me, bro."

"Do you even care about me?"

"What the heck makes you say that?!"

"You didn't even ask my opinion on this on _that day._ But you talked to _Boomer_ about it."

Brick bit his lip again. Well, that was true. He had left Butch out on the conversation. But he had done so frankly because he was afraid of what Butch would do if he ever tried to tell him about taking care of her. It had been pretty obvious; both of his brothers had wanted to do more, they'd gotten over the ugliness of Blossom's predicament pretty quickly.

But Brick hadn't. And he'd needed someone to understand. Boomer had been the ideal choice, being the _idiot_ who would care less about anything going on in the world.

Butch, on the other hand, would probably never have understood. Why Brick felt like they had to take Blossom in for the moment, or why would even keep her alive. Because unlike Brick, who took some time to get over things, Butch would be nervous about seeing such gore, but split-seconds later, he'd be back to normal; if anything, he'd want to leave another living creature in the same shape.

"Well, you coulda just asked-"

"Boomer didn't ask."

"Get to the point!"

"Can't you think about _me_ next time before you do anything else?!"

"COULDN'T YOU HAVE TOLD ME ABOUT HOW YOU FELT ANY EARLIER?!" Both brothers stared at each other, shocked.

For the first time, the red had yelled at the green.

And that wasn't it. Butch felt his blood slowly boil over. Brick was right. And he would have done that if he had expected Brick to listen to him.

Brick felt more startled. He hadn't known Butch had felt this way at all until now, and he was even more amazed his brother had managed to keep quiet. That was, until just now. Did he really seem _that_ untrustworthy in even his own brother's eyes?

The two just stared at each other, silent, until Brick broke the still air, "I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

"Sorry if you felt that way. But can you tell me these things _right away_ next time?"

Butch went quiet. "Fine. But you won't listen anyways."

"I would. I just wish you'd tell me, so I can."

The twosome stared at each other once more. But they didn't gaze at each other with shock and distrust. This time, their gazes were warm and forgiving.

"Answer my question," Butch said, talking a little softer. "When are you going to kill them?"

Brick stopped to think for a moment before replying, "When she's _better._ It's not fun if you're not fighting them and if you're not the one giving them scars."

Butch waited for more, but Brick was silent. Butch nodded. Then, he asked, "When do you plan to take her back?"

Brick scratched his head. He hadn't thought on this one at all. Now that he thought of it, if they were ever going to fight the Powerpuffs the way they _preferred to,_ Blossom was probably going to have to be returned home first. "I'll try to get rid of her as soon as possible, OK?" he sighed. "Just not now."

Butch nodded again. After some awkward silence, he said, "It's getting late. We should sleep."

Brick rolled his eyes. _Says the guy who woke up to find his brother and talk to him about difficult affairs._

They finally exited the kitchen and zoomed upstairs into their room.

Not regarding Blossom, who had been sitting in the shadows, peering out the living room, attempting to listen in on the conversation. She hadn't been able to catch onto much, but what Brick said rang out loud and clear to her.

_I'll try to get rid of her as soon as possible._

Panic rose in her quicker than bile. She would die. Soon, she would be dealt with, and her sisters would follow shortly after. She sobbed silently. What good was it being a heroine if villains could do this to her?

"At least he won't be doing it anytime soon," she whispered, trying to comfort herself.

"At least, not now."

* * *

><p><strong>FINALLY!<strong>

**UGH. . . I JUST SURVIVED THE APOCALYPSE. Or so it seems.**

**SO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE, GUYS. ONE MONTH AND THREE DAYS. WHY?!**

**Well, my school's had some projects that were like make-an-instrument-out-of-trash-within-two-weeks impossible. I guess that's enough.**

**I'll try to update monthly from now on, but that's not a promise.**

**This chapter was terrible. . . I know it sucks. Remember how I said that I had the middle of the story planned out a lot more than the beginning and the end? Well, scratch what I said. I realized I had the beginning and the ending planned out a lot more. No wonder this didn't end up as satisfactory as I wanted it to. Because when I've got the start and the end of the story planned out before the middle, it tends to end up being a short story, and I'm having a terrible time trying to make this story longer.**

**Not to mention, I've been sick lately, and it's hard to think straight when your head's pounding with fever.**

**AND MY COMPUTER BROKE DOWN TEMPORARILY. That really got me set on my nerves. I'm pretty sure some of my ideas are lost down in my Abyss of Forgotten Memories. (Hey, that wasn't a bad name.)**

**Take a note of Brick's nightmare. And Blossom's mumbling. It becomes important later on.**

**One more thing before I take a nap (my head hurts so much): PLEASE SEND IN MORE IDEAS. I'M STILL SUFFERING UNDER A SEVERE CASE OF WRITER'S BLOCK.**

**I WILL BE, LIKE, SO HAPPY WHEN I FINALLY GET TO THE ACTION.**


	6. Chapter 6: Forgotten Ingredient

**_"UGH, I AM GETTING TIRED OF THIS!"_** the devilish creature shrieked in a deep voice, slamming his claws on the arms of his couch. It was the same thing over and over again. Every time, he would dream a scheme, so cunning, so diabolical, so _deliciously_ tormenting. And every time, he would be defeated by those nasty Powerpuff _brats._ Every. Single. Time.

And it didn't just happen to him. The mighty, demonic Him was not the only one to undergo such experiences. It happened to _every_ Townsvillain, or anyone who ever came across those stupid girls, for that matter. Too much time, too little results. Every time a villain thought they'd come up with a foolproof plan, the girls would always prove them wrong. Always.

Every. Single. Time.

"But there _has_ to be a way to stop the girls," Him muttered, his voice now ringing with a falsetto tone. "Just because they've won so far _doesn't_ mean they'll be around forever."

He placed a claw on his chin, deep in thought. Seemed like the monster attack hadn't really worked out. He was pretty sure he had created them just right. . . but it hadn't worked.

Well, not _completely._ Sure, Blossom was missing, her and her sick hair bow. But the other girls hadn't been defeated. Just because the cream of the crop had been reaped didn't mean that it was completely safe to go ahead and attack the rest.

What had destroyed his precious tiger, though? He was pretty sure the redhead had been defeated by it. Then what had gotten to it? How did it perish? He didn't sense that crazy brunette and that pathetic blonde get rid of it.

Perhaps this was a sign that he wasn't powerful enough. To weak to even detect traces of his own work? That was humiliating.

"Oh, there's gotta be _something._ . ." he thought out loud. "If only those girls had had equals to fight them, those monsters were probably too different than them. . . but how will _that_ work out? Even the _boys_ have miserably failed. . ."

But there _had_ to be a way. A way to destroy those _annoying_ Powerpuffs _permanently._

The question was: What?

"If the boys didn't work, I wonder what will. . . they were those girls' spear counterparts, after all, I'm surprised tha-"

Him stopped. Slowly, his cruel smile carved itself onto his face as something clicked in his mind. "No, they're _not_ equal. I may have made them _better_ when I brought them back, but that wasn't the key. Which means I'll have to _create_ some new kids. . ." he stopped again, and his smile vanished. How was he _possibly_ to do something like _that?_ He didn't know how to clone those girls as precisely as he might want. He didn't have what he needed.

Then what would?

Tired of his own thoughts, he picked up his rubber duck from the floor. "Oh, Mr. Quackers, whatever shall I do. . ." He gave his duck a squeeze, out of boredom.

Squeak. Squeak.

"Oh, what's that?"

Squeak, squeak.

"So I _can_ create new villains, hmm? But, _how?"_

Squeak.

"By using the same method I used to create those monsters? Ah, yes. . . but will it work? They're only for creating monsters, after all. . ."

Squeak.

"Oh, I can _make_ them monstrous?"

Squeak. Squeak, squeak.

"Oh, yes, of course! My own, precious little minions! Why, thank you, Mr. Quackers. . . but what can I possibly do to make them powerful enough to defeat those two?" Him said, setting Mr. Quackers down. It probably wouldn't make sense to make them out of the same materials for those monsters.

No, that wasn't the answer at all. He needed to make them out of specific elements that would give them life, power, and hatred, of course. He could still use the procedure that he had followed to create those monsters, but he would have to make adjustments to make sure that his new minions wouldn't have any physical disadvantages compared to Bubbles and Buttercup.

Carefully, he circled the vacant air with his claw. Slowly, pale red mist formed.

"Yes, seeds of hatred. . . let them be planted into the minds of these fellows," he murmured, herding the vapor into a cauldron. Then, using his psychokinetic powers, he located other necessary materials and brought them to the cauldron.

"Hmm, let's see, what would make the perfect pair to defeat those remaining Powerpuffs. . ." he murmured to himself. He didn't know what the outcome would be. But he did know he wanted his new minions to be strong and powerful, not to mention fast and intelligent. With great thought into each object in the debris circling him, he picked out the ones that he felt would be just right.

He threw in a broken light bulb, a few lumps of coal, and some bullet shells into the pot. Out of his collection, he also picked out a large eagle feather. Where _that_ came from, he certainly had no idea. But Him knew that such a large feather would belong to a very strong eagle. At least it might contribute to his minions' strength.

Up until now, he'd felt that this heap of garbage was completely useless, and had really wished that the results of catastrophes would stop piling up at his home.

Now, he felt quite fortunate, indeed.

He continued to pick out materials and dropped them into the cauldron along with the other items that he had already put in, now covered with the wrathful mists of hatred.

Him's claws hurtled in a few more seemingly miscellaneous things. A skull, some water, dirt, flintstones, a banged-up fan, and a slab of polished cobalt. He was about to throw in a random kitten collar (just to make sure they would be bound to him) when the mixture began to bubble. The pale red vapor twirled and twined around each object, faster and faster; Him grinned and peered in, eager to see the results. . .

But progress was slow. While the cauldron was frothing and steaming, there was no other reaction for three minutes. Him's patience finally snapped. Without much care, he flung the collar away and dropped in a couple more materials. A hunk of rusted silver and a can of nightshade. As soon as he knocked them in, the mist changed color, from red, to silver, to blue-

The impact of the ensuing explosion hit Him with full force and knocked him into his couch. Well, _that_ had been unexpected. He had expected puffs of smoke, just the way it had happened when he had created those monsters earlier, not the complete annihilation of the cauldron. He rubbed his head and peered into the fumes. It cleared up, and. . .

Him's jaw dropped at what he saw. He saw two figures. They matched the Powerpuffs in shape. But as more smoke cleared up, he could see that only one of them was a female.

The girl had short blond hair, slicked down, and there were bundled tufts of hair at the sides of her head, making her look as if she had just untied her pigtails. She wore a plain cyan shirt and a cobalt blue skirt to match it. Her black leggings extended beneath her outfit and ended with white Mary Jane shoes. She blinked her baby blue eyes as if she was confused.

The boy's appearance, though, differed greatly from his equivalent. He possessed coal black hair, cut short, and he wore a short-sleeved red shirt and dark gray jeans underneath it. Written in silver across his shirt, in metallic font, from top to bottom, were three words:

**_SHOW_**

**_NO_**

**_RUTH_**

In addition, his forearms bore Celtic griffon tattoos. At his feet were black military boots. His dark silver eyes gleamed with a metallic sheen. Unlike his partner, he just floated there, frowning, showing no sign of true emotion.

Him was pleased with how the male had turned out. But what about the girl? She seemed too. . . _innocent_ to make a good henchman.

Just then, the girl's dumbfounded face broke into a psychotic smile. With insane, high-pitched laughter, she dove forward and stopped right at Him's face.

"Hi!" she yelped with excitement. "Wanna play a game? A game? A fun one? Let's play!"

With a shrill war cry, her fists dove forward. Him simply deflected the punches with his claw. Despite the fact that she had been born too recently to gain much power, her blows were strong, and Him could feel his claw go numb.

"Not in the mood for games, here," he said, flicking his other claw dismissively at the girl. He stood up and walked towards the boy. "I'm busy planning something important."

"Aw, but I wanted to do a killing game _so_ bad!" the girl whined, following right behind him.

Him's ears perked up. Well, at least the girl wasn't a _good_ one. Wait, had she just said "killing game"?

"Save it, sister," came a different voice. Him and the girl both turned to face the young boy, still hovering where he was. Folding his arms, the boy continued, "Games can wait. Our liege has just said he was busy."

Him chuckled. "Oh, how well-mannered you are! I suppose there is use to _both_ of you, after all."

The boy bowed. "We are honored," he simply replied. His sister, still giggling, zapped up right next to him and curtsy.

Him took good note of their features. The boy's silver eyes and the sharp tips of his short hair shone like knives. The boy and been pretty cold and stoic, like steel. Steel. That was it.

"From now on," Him said, rubbing the boy's head lightly, "your name is Blade."

"Blade?" the boy repeated. After some silence, his round eyes grew cold with evil. "I like it."

"Oh, oh, me! What about me?!" the girl cried out, shoving her face into Him's. As Him pushed her away, he cast a good glance at her. The color of her skirt caught his eye. The way she laughed, such beautifully insane and evil laughter. Him realized he enjoyed hearing her eagerness. The eagerness to kill. He remembered the graceful way she had zapped about, in spite of her speed. And there was only one thing in the entire world that could kill so speedily and give its victims graceful deaths.

"And you," Him pointed to the girl, "shall be my little Belladonna. It means nightshade."

At that precise moment, the girl squealed in delight and spun in circles around her brother, causing him to reach out and grab her by the collar. "Excuse me for bringing this up," Blade said, "but it seems to me that my sister's name is a tad long."

"Oh?" Him replied. "Then what do you suggest?"

Blade, after thinking a moment, said, "Perhaps it would be easier to call her simply by 'Bella'. Wouldn't you think so, too?"

He turned to his sister, who only giggled crazily in reply, before hollering, "Bella! My name is Bella! Eeeee!"

Him smiled at his success. He now had more embodiments of evil before him. But of two contrasting aspects. Perhaps things would work out well, after all. "Come, you two," he said, "it's time we've discussed some things."

While Him walked back over to his couch, unknown to him, he kicked the kitten collar over the edge of his living quarters.

And the forgotten ingredient fell into the swirling mass of discord below.

* * *

><p><strong>Dang it! Guys, I'm so sorry for not updating for so long! I was on a short hiatus, AND I COMPLETELY FORGOT TO TELL YOU GUYS. -_-;;<strong>

**From now on, when Him speaks with a deep voice instead of with that effeminate voice, it'll be in bold italics.**

**Here, we introduce two new OCs. These two were contest winners. In case you guys wanna know about the OCs more, I'm going to be posting status updates about them either on my profile or in every chapter they make an appearance in. Haven't decided yet, but this is their first appearance, so, here:**

* * *

><p><strong>NAME: Blade<strong>

**GENDER: Male**

**AFFILIATIONS: Evil**

**PHYSICAL TRAITS: He has coal black hair cut short, and he wears a short-sleeved red T-shirt and dark gray jeans, and he wears black military boots. His eyes are dark silver with a metallic sheen. He has Celtic griffon tattoos on his forearms.**

**PERSONALITY: He is quite reserved and has no portrayal of emotion.**

* * *

><p><strong>NAME: Bella(donna)<strong>

**GENDER: Female**

**AFFILIATIONS: Evil**

**PHYSICAL TRAITS: She has short blond hair, and she wears a cyan shirt with a cobalt blue skirt, and she wears black leggings with white shoes. Her eyes are baby blue in color.**

**PERSONALITY: She has a very energetic personality, and she is sadistic and cruel. She can grow cheerful easily.**

* * *

><p><strong>These status updates are basically to recap what we know of the OCs so far. Blade belongs to ceceangel456. Bella belongs to Vanilla Butter 88.<strong>

**I'll try to update faster next time~ ^^;**


	7. Chapter 7: Broken and Bloody

Bubbles threw her pillow up to the ceiling and let it fall on top of her for the two-hundredth twenty-fifth time. She really didn't feel like playing around with her stuffed animals today. Not even Octi.

It wasn't that she was bored. It just seemed incredibly wrong to have fun when her sibling was nowhere to be found.

She knew Buttercup felt the same. Actually, worse. When Buttercup had returned on the day when Bubbles had failed on passing out the missing posters, she had come back crying. And Bubbles, who had rarely seen the brunette weep, felt fearful to the core. Something really terrible must have happened to make her sister cry. She'd attempted numerous times to get an answer out of Buttercup on what happened.

But all attempts had been unsuccessful. Buttercup wouldn't say a single word to her, and would only stare back at Bubbles with a crestfallen face whenever any talk about Blossom was brought up.

She did notice one thing, though. The usually persistent Buttercup that Bubbles had known didn't go out to look for Blossom anymore.

Now, as she threw her pillow up in the air again, Bubbles saw her sister, on the floor, curled up into a ball of depression. She wondered what Buttercup was thinking.

And what she was hiding.

Taking a deep breath, she called out, "Buttercup!" The brunette turned to the blonde just in time to see the pillow smothering her blue eyes.

"Yeah?"

Bubbles threw the pillow, but this time, off the bed. "What really happened on that day while you were out?"

Buttercup grumbled and tucked her head into her arms. "I don't wanna go over this again."

"But if you don't let me know, it might not let us know if we're closer to Blossom or not."

Trying to hide the notion that Bubbles had struck home right there, Buttercup muttered, "Don't talk to me."

"Aw, please?" Bubbles floated by next to her sister. "You can hit me in the face after you tell me, if you feel like it."

Buttercup rolled her eyes. "Can you just not bother me right now? I told you, I don't feel like talking about it."

Just then, the doorbell rang. Buttercup, glad to have a distraction to help her avoid the situation, zoomed out the bedroom and went downstairs. Right at the front door, though, she hesitated. Who would want to visit them at this moment? Were they coming for help? But they couldn't help, not in the current situation. Still, to come straight to the doorstep of the Powerpuff Girls' house. . . it must be _really_ important.

Buttercup opened the door, and gasped as she saw who was standing before her.

"BLOSSOM!" she cried, tackling downwards.

* * *

><p><em>"You know, you <em>really _didn't have to threaten that nurse just to get me a crutch."_

_"Shut up," Brick muttered as he slowly set down Blossom at the Powerpuffs' front porch. "Boomer and Butch are mad at me enough for even tryin' that stunt again."_

_After landing, Blossom had trouble standing with a crutch that dug into her armpit. She wobbled. . . and almost fell over. Brick caught her in time._

_"Next thing you sissy's gonna tell me is that you don't feel like walking right now."_

_"No, no, I'm fine," Blossom protested, and slowly made her way to the door. She raised a bandaged hand and (with Brick's help) managed to reach the doorbell._

_She stopped._

_"Hey," Brick grumbled. "Are you gonna ring it, or are you gonna stay on my shoulders?"_

_Blossom sighed. "You know," she said hesitantly, "I think you should get out of here. If they see you h—"_

_"Right now, I can fly, unlike you," he spat. "Jus' ring it and I'll bail."_

_Blossom nodded and finally rested her hand on the button._

* * *

><p>"You're OK!" Buttercup squealed with glee as she hugged her sister in a tight embrace. "You're alive!"<p>

"Easy, Buttercup," Blossom chuckled. "I'll get crushed again if you hug me like that!"

Laughing, Buttercup released her. . . and gasped in horror. "Oh my god. . . what happened to you? You look—"

"Bloody and broken with a lame limb?" Blossom shrugged. "I am."

Buttercup stared before starting, "Well. . . the Professor can probably take care of all that. Come on in!" Without waiting, she yanked Blossom in, crutch and all.

Brick had been hiding in a bush. He'd seen the exchange between the two. And he had been gritting his teeth all along; it took him all his willpower to not suddenly jump out and attack Buttercup. He had _not_ felt like seeing this sort of a fuss being made in front of him.

He didn't know why, but. . . somehow, he was being affected by such soft sights.

He _knew_ he was going out of control.

Brick just stayed silent as he listened to the cheers erupting from the Powerpuff household. Jumping out of the bush, he folded his arms and took flight, utterly disgusted. Why did these sissies always have to make a huge fuss out of _everything?_

Would he do the same if Boomer or Butch suddenly went missing then came back one day?

Would he care?

Would _they_ care?

_Ever?_

* * *

><p>Blossom laid down in her place in the bed, feeling tired.<p>

"Are you OK now?" Bubbles chirped up.

"I'm fine, thanks," the redhead replied. "The Professor's medicine was actually quite effective!"

"Good thing, too," Buttercup said as she landed next to them. "'Cause when you're all better, we can go around and kick monster butt again!"

Blossom chuckled. "I'd like that."

The Professor cracked open the door, smiling at the sight of seeing his three daughters together once again. "Alright, girls," he called out. "Time for bed."

The girls slipped under their covers and giggled as the Professor came in and kissed each of them on the head.

He sighed and looked back as he turned off the lights. Closing the door, he thought of all the possible lengths Blossom might have gone through to return.

But all would be well, now that the trio was united again. Blossom was back.

Even if she was broken and bloody with a lame limb.

* * *

><p><strong>GUYS, I'M BACK! <strong>**_AND I'M NOT DEAD!_**

**I feel like I just died, though. Entered high school very recently, and life is just ****_HELL._**

**Well, anyway, before anybody complains, I ****_know_**** this was a very short chapter, and I honestly want to stab myself for getting stuck HERE. WHY?!**

**I just needed a filler chapter to pacify the screaming masses of readers. The next chapter ****_will_**** be better, I promise.**

**I also promise to notify you guys on my profile the next time I'm on hiatus. . .**


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